Kitap 4
2.10
But Socrates, aware that he was pleased with his approbation, went on to say: Tell me, Euthydemus, what kind of goodness do you want to get by collecting these books?And as Euthydemus was silent, considering what answer to give, Possibly you want to be a doctor? he guessed: Medical treatises alone make a large collection.Oh no, not at all.But perhaps you wish to be an architect? One needs a well-stored mind for that too.No, indeed I don’t.Well, perhaps you want to be a good mathematician, like Theodorus?Theodorus of Cyrene, who is one of the characters in the Theaetetus of Plato.No, not that either.Well, perhaps you want to be an astronomer? And as he again said no, Perhaps a rhapsodist, then? They tell me you have a complete copy of Homer.Oh no, not at all; for your rhapsodists, I know, are consummate as reciters, but they are very silly fellows themselves.Then Socrates exclaimed:
2.11
Surely, Euthydemus, you don’t covet the kind of excellence that makes good statesmen and managers, competent rulers and benefactors of themselves and mankind in general?Yes, I do, Socrates, answered Euthydemus, that kind of excellence I greatly desire.Why, cried Socrates, it is the noblest kind of excellence, the greatest of arts that you covet, for it belongs to kings and is dubbed kingly. However, he added, have you reflected whether it be possible to excel in these matters without being a just man?Yes, certainly; and it is, in fact, impossible to be a good citizen without justice.
